• Nelson George, ‘Hip-Hop’s Founding Fathers Speak the Truth’, in Forman and Neal (2012); also available in Forman and Neal (2004)
• Video: Founding Fathers: The Untold Story of Hip-Hop (Ron Lawrence and Hassan Pore, 2009). Watch this before class; we’ll review a few scenes during class as they become relevant to our discussion.

In Class

1. 1. Attendance
   2. Q&A: Did hip-hop really begin in the Bronx?
   3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• Andrew Nosnitsky, ‘Classic Material’, Pitchfork (19 November 2012)
• Audio: This should go without saying, but you need to listen to Nas’s Illmatic (1993) album if you don’t already know it. Even if you do know it, you should revisit it.
• Video: Kendrick Lamar: Good Kid, m.A.A.d. Classic (21 October 2017)

Recap: We continued our discussion of the Wild Style era and then watched the movie right up to just before the first party scene.

For Next Time

• Nelson George, ‘Hip-Hop’s Founding Fathers Speak the Truth’, in Forman and Neal (2012); also available in Forman and Neal (2004)
• Video: Founding Fathers: The Untold Story of Hip-Hop (Ron Lawrence and Hassan Pore, 2009). Watch this before class; we’ll review a few scenes during class as they become relevant to our discussion.

Prep

• • Alex Gale, The Oral History of “Wild Style”, Complex (2013). Note: I advise watching the movie to the end before reading this.
  • Video: Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)

In Class

1. 1. Attendance
   2. Q&A: How do we separate history from mythology?
   3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time]

• Nelson George, ‘Hip-Hop’s Founding Fathers Speak the Truth’, in Forman and Neal (2012); also available in Forman and Neal (2004)
• Video: Founding Fathers: The Untold Story of Hip-Hop (Ron Lawrence and Hassan Pore, 2009). Watch this before class; we’ll review a few scenes during class as they become relevant to our discussion. 

Prep

• • Jeff Chang, ‘Zulus on a Time Bomb: Hip-Hop Meets the Rockers Downtown’, in Forman and Neal (2012). I’ll drop the PDF on the Discord server. This time, we’ll focus on the sections having to do with graffiti. 
  • Video: Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982). We’ll watch important chunks in class, but please watch the movie in its entirety before class.

In Class

1. 1. Attendance
   2. Story Maps Group Huddles
   3. Q&A: Did street art survive its move to the galleries?
   4. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time]

• Alex Gale, The Oral History of “Wild Style”, Complex (2013). Note: I advise watching the movie to the end before reading this.
• Video: Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)

Prep

• • Sally Banes, ‘Physical Graffiti: Breaking Is Hard to Do’, Village Voice, 
  • Video: Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982). We’ll watch this movie in class, but I encourage you to look at it a few times. You can view this movie for free using the hyperlink in the title.

In Class

1. 1. Attendance
   2. Q&A: How have various kinds of mass media influenced the evolution of hip-hop dance?
   3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time]

• Jeff Chang, ‘Zulus on a Time Bomb: Hip-Hop Meets the Rockers Downtown’, in Forman and Neal (2012). We’ll focus on the sections concerning graffiti.
• Video: Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)

Prep

• Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, ‘Hip-Hop: Planet Rock’, in Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey (Grove Press, 2006)
• Video: DJ Jazzy Jay | Crate Diggers | Fuse (10 October 2012). Jazzy Jay was one of Zulu Nation’s main DJs, was the co-founder of Def Jam Records, and is one of hip-hop’s great storytellers. keywords: crate digging; sacred crates.

In Class

1. Attendance
2. A Moment of Silence
3. Q&A: Is hip-hop inherently political?
4. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time]

• Sally Banes, ‘Breaking’, in Forman and Neal (2004:13-20)
• Video: Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982). We’ll watch this movie in class, but I encourage you to look at it a few times. You can view this movie for free using the hyperlink in the title.

Prep

• Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, ‘Hip-Hop Roots: Adventures on the Wheels of Steel’, in Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey (Grove Press, 2006)
• Audio: Rich Nice, Merry Go Round Mix (11 August 2020)
• Video: Grandmaster Flash, ‘A Letter to Kool Herc from Grandmaster Flash’ (14 August 2017)

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: What’s the difference between rap and hip-hop music?
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• TBD

Prep

• Benedict Carey, ‘In Music, Others’ Tastes May Help Shape Your Own’, New York Times (14 February 2006) 
• Shamus Khan, ‘The New Elitists’, New York Times (7 July 2012)
• Audio: ‘How to Listen to Music in 4 Easy Steps’, Switched on Pop 50

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: How subjective can taste be for social animals like ourselves?
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• DUE: Semester Goals HW
• Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, ‘Hip-Hop Roots: Adventures on the Wheels of Steel’, in Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey (Grove Press, 2006)
• Audio: Rich Nice, Merry Go Round Mix (11 August 2020)
• Video: Grandmaster Flash, ‘A Letter to Kool Herc from Grandmaster Flash’ (14 August 2017)

Prep

(Note: These are all short, whether texts or audiovisual clips; please make sure you check them out before our first meeting!)

• Ground Rules for the Classroom
• Frederick Douglas, ‘Learning to Read and Write’ (1845)
• Malcolm X, ‘Learning to Read’ (1965)
• Video: Robert Glasper: “Jazz is the mother of hip-hop” | JAZZ NIGHT IN AMERICA (19 April 2017)

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: What do we gain from the academic study of hip-hop? And what do academics typically get wrong about hip-hop?
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• Benedict Carey, ‘In Music, Others’ Tastes May Help Shape Your Own’, New York Times (14 February 2006) 
• Shamus Khan, ‘The New Elitists’, New York Times (7 July 2012)
• Audio: ‘How to Listen to Music in 4 Easy Steps’, Switched on Pop 50

• DUE: Story Maps Final Projects

In Class

1. 1. Attendance
   2. In-Class Presentations
   3. Final Words

For Next Time

• Have a nice summer!